


fever dream

by illusemywords



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Bad Cooking, Cooking, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, Influencer AU, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Sick Wilde, Twitter, Youtuber AU, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28901700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illusemywords/pseuds/illusemywords
Summary: Zolf Smith runs a cooking channel and Oscar Wilde is a sick influencer.Or,Oscar tries one of Zolf's recipes.
Relationships: Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde
Comments: 18
Kudos: 68





	fever dream

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to everyone in Rome who participated in the initial conversation we had about this AU. I'm looking forward to hopefully reading more fics set in this world. 
> 
> Title from the mxmtoon song by the same name.

Oscar tweets that this week’s video will be delayed because he’s got a cold and needs a few days off. He drops his phone onto the bedside table and proceeds to ignore it as he curls up under his duvet, shivering.

When he wakes up several hours later, he finds that a not insignificant amount of people have replied to his tweet with a youtube link, several people swearing that it’ll cure anything that ails him. He’s not sure what he expects to see when he clicks it, but it’s not a gruff looking dwarf with a long braided beard, standing behind a kitchen counter.

The video is called ‘Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup’, and is a few months old. He looks uncomfortable in front of the camera.

"So, uh, my therapist recommended that I try to make some videos. She wants me to _put myself out there_ or something like that. So, uh, here I am. I’m not really much of a talker, but I’m a decent cook, so I figure I could do some cooking videos, and, uh, yeah. So, that’s what this is."

Oscar can’t help but smile. He recognises the anxiety of a fresh YouTuber, and while he doesn’t think he himself was ever quite as… rugged as this man is, he can certainly relate to the nerves.

"This recipe is one my mum taught me," the man continues. "She used to, uh, make it for me when I was sick. It really clears out your sinuses." The audio is surprisingly decent for what’s clearly done with the inbuilt camera microphone. 

Oscar finds himself watching intently, even trying to pay attention to the recipe. He can’t cook, but for some reason he wants to try this. It may be the fact that his entire face aches because of his stuffy nose. It may also be that the recipe is being taught by a very handsome dwarf.

The recipe is written out in the description of the video, and Oscar very quickly realises that he doesn’t have any of the ingredients.

Grabbing his phone, he opens his text conversation with Hamid, typing out a short message.

To Hamid:

Remember how you said you’d go shopping for me since I’m sick?

* * *

"What are you making today, boss?" Sasha asks, grinning as she enters the kitchen.

"Don’t call me that," Zolf says automatically, not looking up from where he’s busy arranging the ingredients for today’s dish on the counter.

She’s technically right, in that he’s giving her a portion of the ad revenue he receives from his videos in return for helping him out with camera work sometimes, in addition to getting to eat all the food he makes. But he’s not her boss, and he doesn’t want to think of her as an employee. Sasha knows all this, of course, and Zolf knows that the only reason she continues to say it is to rile him up.

Sasha doesn’t reply, just gets to work setting up the camera and the other equipment. Zolf is already wearing his microphone, pinned to the top of his apron.

They work silently for a few minutes.

"I’m making a vegan curry," Zolf says finally, when he’s done with his preparations.

Sasha nods. "Sounds good. You ready to start?"

Zolf takes a deep breath. No matter how many of these he makes, the initial anxiety is somehow still there every time. His therapist seems pleased with the progress he’s made, but to him it feels just as awful as it did that first time. He just takes her word for it.

He nods to Sasha, and braces himself as she counts down. Once she gives him the okay, he gets started.

"Hello," he says. These intros never get any less awkward, but people seem to find them endearing, so Zolf guesses it’s okay. "Welcome back. Today we’re making a simple vegetable curry. Personally, I like this recipe for days when I don’t feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Once you’ve got it all in the pot, you can really just relax. Just make sure you stir it once in a while and it should be fine. So, let’s get going."

* * *

Hamid shows up at his door a few hours later, two big bags of groceries clutched in his very small arms. He drops the bags onto the floor, taking a few steps back when Oscar opens the door.

"Sorry," Hamid says sheepishly. "Don’t want to get sick."

"Understandable," Oscar sniffles. "Thank you, Hamid." He crouches down and grabs the bags, pulling them into the hallway of his flat to deal with later.

"Uh, what are you making?" Hamid asks.

"Soup," Oscar says happily.

"Soup," Hamid repeats. "Do you, uh, know how to make soup?"

He supposes it’s a fair enough question. Hamid knows that he doesn’t normally cook.

"Someone sent me a recipe video. It’s supposed to be good for when you’re sick. I’m not sure if I’ll manage to pull it off but it, uh, looked good." He tries not to think about the fact that he can’t really remember whether the soup looked good or not because the only image his mind is showing him is of the handsome dwarf making it.

"Alright… Good luck, I suppose. I’ve got to get going, but I hope you feel better soon."

"Thank you again, Hamid. I owe you one."

"Just don’t burn your flat down trying to cook, please."

"I’ll try my best."

His best turns out to be taking another three hour nap because just putting the groceries away drains him of most of his energy.

It’s a few hours later when he finally does start cooking, and he quickly realises that even with a deceptively simple recipe like this, it’s very possible for him to fuck it up. He doesn’t think what he ends up with is quite right, but the spice of the ginger does manage to effectively clear out his sinuses, so he’ll count it as a success.

He takes a picture of his bowl of soup, posting it on Twitter.

Oscar Wilde @OscarWilde

Thanks to everyone who sent me this, and thanks to @ZolfSmith for the excellent recipe. I think I may have burnt it a little, so I wouldn’t say I’ve reached Masterchef status quite yet, but it’s still tasty!

* * *

Zolf has just finished cleaning the kitchen and putting away the leftovers when his phone vibrates on the counter. He picks it up, and sees the notification from Twitter. Someone named Oscar Wilde has tagged him in a picture of what looks like the soup he made for his first video. He clicks onto the profile and reads a series of tweets complaining about an apparently terrible cold this person is suffering from. It’s not unusual for people to tag him when posting pictures of his recipes, but the people who do don’t usually have half a million followers.

"Who the hell is Oscar Wilde, and how do you manage to burn soup?" he asks out loud.

Sasha looks up from where she’s sitting at the kitchen table. "He’s that fashion guy, right? I think he has a Youtube channel. As for the soup, I don’t know. Ask him?"

Zolf does.

Zolf Smith @ZolfSmith

@OscarWilde Glad you liked the recipe, but how exactly do you manage to burn soup?

He puts his phone down, but it vibrates again almost immediately.

Oscar Wilde @OscarWilde

@ZolfSmith I honestly couldn’t tell you. I tried to follow the recipe, but I will admit I may have gotten lost in your soulful eyes a few times.

Zolf feels his cheeks heat up at that, and he very resolutely does not look at Sasha to see if she’s noticed.

Zolf Smith @ZolfSmith

@OscarWilde That’s a strange way of saying "I don’t know how to follow directions", but okay.

* * *

Oscar actually laughs out loud when he reads the reply, before immediately breaking down into a coughing fit. Once it passes, he taps out a response.

Oscar Wilde @OscarWilde

@ZolfSmith If you want to come over and show me how it’s done, feel free.

When a few minutes have passed with no reply, Oscar figures he may have taken it too far. It won’t be the first time he’s scared someone off in a Twitter interaction by coming on too strong, and it surely won’t be the last. He won’t let himself dwell on it too much.

He’s just about to get up to go get another bowl of his Actually Not Terrible soup, when his phone vibrates again.

**Zolf Smith** followed you.

And then he gets a direct message notification.

From Zolf Smith:

Do you actually want me to teach you that recipe? Because I could probably do that, if you want.

* * *

Zolf drops his phone back onto the counter, trying not to think too hard about what he just did. With every second that passes without his phone lighting up with a notification he convinces himself that he’s made a mistake. A few silly tweets back and forth doesn’t mean the guy was actually serious.

He shouldn’t assume that someone like him who clearly has a huge following and who probably didn’t even mean to start a conversation with him and –

His phone lights up.

From Oscar Wilde:

I would love that. I must warn you though, I really am a terrible cook.

Zolf huffs out a laugh and starts typing.

To Oscar Wilde:

I kind of gathered that from the burnt soup. Call it professional curiosity, if nothing else.

He hits send before he can think about it too much, and can’t help but smile a little when the response comes back quickly.

From Oscar Wilde:

Well, in that case, I would love nothing more than to help sate your curiosity. When are you free?

They go back and forth for a while, trying to figure out a day that works with both of their schedules.

At some point, Sasha sneaks up on him, and when he finally looks up from his phone he finds her reading over his shoulder.

"Did you just get a date?" she asks.

"What? No!" Zolf answers. He looks back down at his phone, reading through the messages again. "At least I don’t think so?"

**Author's Note:**

> I almost called this fic Burnt Soup Meet Cute. But I didn't.


End file.
